From the very dawn of civilization, people have been united by the act of eating. The gathering of family and friends together around the table, food and drink flowing freely, is always among the most joyful images, so much so that it has become the very foundation of multiple festivals and holidays around the world. So it isn’t a surprise that one of the best manga in recent years, Delicious in Dungeon, is about food and, more importantly, the community that food creates.

Spoilers for the Delicious in Dungeon manga follow.

The initial concept of Delicious in Dungeon makes the food aspect of dungeon crawling feel like a gimmick to keep the series from feeling like any other high fantasy manga. The way that most characters react to Senshi’s skill and insistence on cooking the various creatures he finds in the dungeon is generally with suspicion or disgust, but that food becomes the catalyst for the plot of the story.

Through those meals, as odd as they seem to everyone other than Laios and Senshi, the group bonds and grows. This is not a power fantasy story, where the group gains strength from eating creatures like Toriko. They finish the manga roughly as powerful as they started. Nor is food merely a way to sustain their bodies, like in Dragon Ball or One Piece. And unlike Food Wars, food isn’t treated as the ultimate goal. It is an important part of their lives rather than the center of it. Instead, food in Delicious in Dungeon nurtures the soul as much as it does the body.

There is a definite divide between the way that Laios’ group approaches the dungeon and how every other adventurer tries to reach the bottom. Aside from their motivation to rescue Falin from the belly of a dragon, Laios and his friends go in without bothering to purchase pre-made food, which is the common practice among adventurers. Other parties treat their meals as a necessary but troublesome part of the process. They eat to live, whereas Senshi shows Laios’ group that there is another way. While everyone else is eating the fantasy equivalent of fast food, Laios, Senshi, Marcille, and Chilchuck are having home-cooked meals every day.

The act of eating alongside friends and family is among the most important things that people can do for their own well-being, and we see that in Delicious in Dungeon. Each episode treats meals as a sacred part of the day, as something that should be embraced rather than rushed. That is why they are able to get further into the dungeon than anyone else; there are the lessons learned about the monsters, but really it is their bond that grows stronger.

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It all culminates in the end of the manga, where Laios assembles all his allies to share a meal. That meal is the red dragon that has pseudo-fused with Falin; to save her and return her to her human form, they need to kill the dragon and eat it. To do that, they need a lot of hungry bellies.

Thankfully, the act of sharing food has built a community around Laios; a community that gathers around an unusual meal. Every time Laios’ party shared their food with others, they built a connection. That connection is what eventually allows them to clear the dungeon and save Falin. Food is the thread that binds this unusual community together, just like it often is in real life. Because of that community, the group is able to do what no one else has ever done and defeat the Mad Mage’s dungeon for good.

The end of Delicious in Dungeon feels like a story straight out of the most heartwarming of Christmas films. Everyone gathers around. Past grudges are left in the past while a brighter future is the focus. A brightly adorned pine tree in the corner wouldn’t have seemed out of place at all. It is a little cheesy, but it is a wholesome kind of cheesy that brings a smile to your face. Just like a good meal with loved ones can do.

Food in Delicious in Dungeon isn’t just the focus of the humor or a gimmick to give the manga a unique flavor. It is a key ingredient to the message at play here. Countless parties have tried to attack the dungeon separately to limited success, but it isn’t until they are united for a meal that they achieve it. Food can make us strong, but the community that it builds makes us invincible.

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